What is it?
- Dizziness related to neck injury or pain
Symptoms
- Dizziness after neck pain or injury
- Can last from minutes to hours
- May have headache
- Dizziness may decrease as neck pain decreases
- Imbalance with movements of the head and movements in the environment
Causes
- Whiplash
- Head injury
- Brain injury
- Inner Ear Injury
Testing
- Thorough medical evaluation needed so it is not confused with other causes of dizziness
- Testing inner ear function to verify the peripheral and central vestibular system is healthy
- Example testing maneuver: turn the body while the head is held still to see if it causes eye movements or dizziness
- This maneuver may cause false positives so it must be combined with other clinical tests and symptoms
Treatment
- Majority of patients improve with treatment of neck problems
- Medication, exercise, lessons on proper posture and use of the neck
- Some patients need vestibular treatment as well
- Eye and balance exercises, walking, gradual to dizziness inducing environments
Sources
The above article was written using information from Veda Education Resources
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